Google 3D-Sensing Tablet Unveiled, Amazon 3D Smartphone Teased

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) launched a $1000 tablet prototype with 3D sensors and a motion tracking camera, and rumors have again gained ground that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s long-awaited 3D smartphone is not far away. Though Google has officially launched its device, Amazon has not officially confirmed anything.

Google tablet later this month

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s 3D tablet marks the latest product under the Google’s venture Project Tango, which is an effort to integrate 3D motion and depth sensors into mobile devices. The specs on the 7-inch tablet are 4GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage, with multiple cameras with motion tracking features and depth sensors. The tablet runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat and will be powered by NVIDIA’s latest Tegra K1 processor.

The Project Tango team is expecting that the tablet will be ready to be showcased at the Google I/O later this month according to a report from Engadget. Developers will also be able to try the prototypes priced at $1,024 later this month. Project Tango itself is a part of Google’s experimental Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group. Prior to the tablet, ATAP launched a 3D sensor-enabled smartphone in February under Project Tango.

Interested developers will be notified of the availability of the tablet once they sign up. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s ATAP team said in a Google+ post “You can use the Project Tango Tablet Development Kit to make applications that track full 3-dimensional motion and capture surfaces in the environment.”

Is Amazon’s 3D smartphone coming?

On the other hand, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is also expected to launch a smartphone with 3D capabilities. It has been almost two years since the rumors of Amazon working on a 3D phone first surfaced. The smartphone would potentially have four cameras along with eye-tracking technology, and supposedly can display 3D images visible without 3D glasses, said a report from the Wall Street Journal in April.

A couple of days back, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) launched an advertisement for its upcoming event on June 18th in Seattle, where literally everyone is invited, but the company says that seats are limited. In the advertisement video, “Amazon customers” are shown holding a device in their hands and looking surprised. Customers are giving reactions such as, “This is really cool,” “It’s very real-life and incomparable to anything I’ve seen,” “It moved with me,” and “I don’t know how you guys do that.”

Either the customers in the video are talking about the eye-tracking technology or the company us just adopting marketing tricks to benefit from the rumors.